A new report by commercial property consultancy Colliers International into the food and beverage market reveals 17 restaurants opened in the city in the first half of 2017. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool’s bar and restaurant sector is continuing to grow and thrive despite possible contraction by major chains across the UK.
A new report by commercial property consultancy Colliers International into the food and beverage (F&B) market reveals 17 restaurants opened in the city in the first half of 2017.
These included Gino D’Acampo and Izakaya on Castle Street, a part of the city once known for banking but now a thriving food and drink quarter.
And in July the Liverpool-based Indian street food restaurant operator, Mowgli – founded by barrister Nisha Katona – secured investment of £3.45m to open more outlets. Top chef Marco Pierre White is also bringing another restaurant brand to Liverpool.
Colliers’ study, ‘Northern Soul’, also reveals consumers throughout the North including the North West, spend 14% of disposable income on leisure activities including F&B, the largest proportion of any region in the UK.
Despite rising inflation squeezing household budgets and uncertainty following the vote to leave the EU, resilient consumers nationwide spent £1 in every £5 on leisure in 2016, accounting for £238bn or 20% of all consumer spend and a 6.4% increase on the previous year.
Colliers records a 30% year-on-year rise in the number of bars, pubs and clubs in the North West, a 21% jump in the region’s restaurant numbers and a 15% hike in cafes and quick service/fast casual restaurants.
At the heart of this growth are Liverpool and Manchester, with Liverpool boasting 71% more leisure provision than the UK average and Manchester 65% more.
Another area of Liverpool city centre proving popular with local and national F&B providers is that between Paradise Street and Seel Street, where Cosy Club, Circo, Shed and Zodiac Lounge have opened since December 2016.
Bold Street has also enhanced its reputation as a home for independent operators with a range of new F&B outlets and a new hub for independent street food vendors has been created at the Baltic Triangle food hall in the former Cains Brewery.
Liverpool One and Albert Dock continue to attract significant operator interest with existing tenants agreeing new leases at higher rents.
Rental values at Liverpool One have doubled to £62.50 per sq ft since 2011 and increased by 25% at Albert Dock in the past two years.
Colin Seibert, director, licensed and leisure at the North West offices of Colliers, said: “The remarkable resilience of consumer spending, despite increasing pressure on household incomes, continues to drive growth across the North West leisure sector, albeit operators are becoming increasingly more selective about locations and rental levels.
“Many of the major branded operators have curtailed their expansion plans.
“There are some locations where rental levels have peaked and in some instances, may be perhaps unsustainable going forward whereas we have seen growth and increasing rental values in other areas and which are still subject to good demand.
“There are likely to be instances where some operators will not be able to cope with the current economic climate and some sites may well come to market at more attractive prices.”